1. Field of the Invention
The invention deals with equipment to roll-up a lane of compressible material in which three winding elements form the winding space. The winding elements include a first continuous conveyor belt to feed the lane of material, a second endless belt that forms an angle of 50.degree. to 80.degree. with the first endless belt, and a winding roller arranged between the conveyor belts. At least one of these winding elements is moveable to the other elements.
In the preferred embodiment, the winding roller is mostly arranged moveable to the other elements and particularly at the end of the winding arm. In this arrangement, the contact pressure between the elements is calculated to shape a round roll and not to deform or crush the roll.
2. Scope of the Prior Art
A piece of equipment is known which provides a third endless conveyor belt between the winding roller and the first endless belt. The third endless conveyor belt belongs to the winding space and its task is to maintain the tension and compression in the roll of compressible material and to prevent expansion. With the third belt, a greater compression of the material is attained therefore when rolling up the material. In other words, more material is wound at same wind diameter and greater length of mat or strip can be rolled-up as compared to two conveyor belt rolling equipment.
The compression of the wound material is determined by the contact pressure of the winding roller. There are, however, limits to the compression as the compressible material is only compressed when it comes into contact with the roll of compressible material formed on the roller. Thereby, the compression area is so short and the surface of the compressible material blanket may be pressed back at too high compression so that under certain circumstances the material may be shorn. The structure of the compressible material is then damaged to such an extent that upon use at construction site the material no longer is able to recover its original elasticity.
In order to obtain greater precompression without damaging the structure and the elastic recovery features, a compression plate, which can compress the compressible material equally over a longer stretch, has been provided beneath the third endless belt in the known equipment. The considerable disadvantage of this device is that friction arises between the surface of the compressible material and the plate. The friction causes the upper side of the compressible material to lag behind the lower side when drawing into the winding space. The compressible material thus suffers from a certain shear stress. This leads to a partial destruction of the fiber structure and influences the later elastic recovery of the material. In the case of laminated products, this can lead to a separation of the lamination from the beginning of the blanket.